Components of Rural livelihood and livelihood Indicators

Rural livelihood and its components

In the simplest sense, a livelihood is defined as a person's means of securing the basic necessities such as food, clean drinking water, shelter, clothing, etc. for sustaining his/her life. It is in fact, a combination of human capabilities, assets and activities that are required for survival.

In the field of social science, the concept of livelihood may extend to include social and cultural means i.e. the command an individual or a family or any social group which it has on its income and/ or various other resources which may be utilized in any way to satisfy its needs. This may involve the use and/or manipulation of information, legal rights, skills and assets such as land, tools, etc.

A rural livelihood essentially consists of three major components namely; stores and resources, livelihood capabilities and claims and access.

Livelihood capabilities:

A livelihood capability is defined as a person's ability and capacity to perform certain works which may directly or indirectly aid in his/her means of sustaining a basic lifestyle. Along with that, it also includes a person's ability to cope with any stress or shock that may be encountered during his/her life and also the ability to find, recognize and utilize various livelihood opportunities.

A person's skill and ability directly affect his/her profession which in turn affects his/her lifestyle. A human society is a dynamic and a complex system in which its members adapt different professional lifestyles suited according to their skills and abilities.

Stores and resources:

Stores and resources are the tangible assets which are commanded by a household or any social group which are utilized to sustain a basic lifestyle. Tangible assets are those assets which are capable of being appraised or evaluated at an actual or an approximate value. They are substantially real and are capable of being perceived especially by the sense of touch.

Stored assets may include income savings or some other non-monetary form such as stocks of food, gold, jewelry, etc.

Resources may be private which are fully commanded by a household such as private land, tools, domestic resources, livestock, etc. or some common pool resource such as community forests, rivers, lakes, etc. which are shared by the society members.

Claims and access:

Claims and access are the intangible assets which are utilized or commanded by an individual or a household. They are not real in a substantial sense but are very important for sustaining a livelihood.

Claims are the appeals or demands made often during the times of stress or shock. Claims are made usually for material, moral or any form of practical support which may be food, loans, works, etc. They are made by relatives, neighbors, some social groups, NGOs, INGOs, government bodies, etc. The fulfillment of claims made by a household is one of the key factors in determining its life standard.

Access is defined as an opportunity to utilize physical resources and services as well as opportunities to obtain information, materials, technologies, employment, etc. Provision of opportunities to use services such as transportation, education, medicine, markets, etc. to a rural household has a key role in uplifting its living standard. Access to information and new events can be gained by using some efficient forms of communication such as radio, television, newspapers, telephones, etc.

Employment and other income generating involve the provision of access and rights to utilize common pool resources such as grazing on communal lands.

To sum it up, a rural livelihood comprises of activities people do for a living, assets and what they gain from what they do.

The assets can be broadly classified in the form of assets pentagon as:

1. Natural Capital:

It includes all the natural resources which are required for sustaining a life. They occur naturally and are directly or indirectly utilized (in some cases, exploited) in order to gain a means of living. Some examples are cultivable land, land for construction of houses, forests, rivers, lakes, mines, etc.

2. Financial Capital:

It includes all the monetary or non-monetary form of resources which are utilized to sustain a livelihood. It also includes income generating sources along with the provision of saving and credit facilities.

3. Human Capital:

This form of capital is diverse and varies according to people in a society. It includes the level of education, sense of judgment, rationality, the level of awareness, knowledge, human skills, health conditions, etc.

4. Physical Capital:

It includes the basic infrastructures of development such as transportation, communication, health facilities, education institutions, the supply of clean drinking water, etc. along with other infrastructures such as agricultural accessories and technologies, irrigation facilities, sanitation, clean energy sources, etc.

5. Social Capital:

Social capital includes norms and networks that facilitate people to work in a collective and collaborative fashion. This form of capital is dynamic in nature and can vary with time and according to societies. It includes mutual respect and harmony between the society members, the collective voice of the people, the level of organization and collaboration between the community members, the level of discrimination, etc.

Livelihood indicators

Livelihood indicators are important parameters for determining the life standard of a rural household.

Some sample indicators of changes in the livelihoods of people after the intervention of a project are described briefly as follows.

1. After the completion of a project, the diversity in the livelihood activities of people can be analyzed and evaluated to determine the impact of the project on people.

2. The skills and training provided during the project, their relevance, and their utilization after the intervention of the project can be analyzed to determine the effect of the project in the livelihood of the people.

3. The difference monthly income of a household before and after the completion of a project is an important indicator of the effectiveness of the project.

4. The change in working days of the people in a community before and after the project intervention can be analyzed to determine the impact of the project in the livelihood activities of the people.

5. Reduction in poverty and vulnerability of the targeted community after the intervention of a project is another important observable change which can be analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the project.

References

1. Wikipedia. (2016).Livelihood. Retrieved fromhttps://en.wikipedia.org

Information from the handouts provided by my lecturer Mr. Gopal Joshi Subedi has also been used.